Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-01-20
FOREIGN AFFAIRS.
The Pope Writes TO Emperor William
Thanking Him for His Speech
from the Throne.
English Theater-The Whole Audience
Lose their Heads.
THE POPE TO WILLIAM.

ROME, Jan. I9.-The pope has written
a letter to Emperor William of Germany
thanking him for the references in his
speech opening the landtag on the 18th
instant to the iucreasi' g friendliness Of
the relations between Prussia and the
vatican. The pope promises to CO.
operate with the emperor in bringing ne
gotiations between Prussia and the vati-
can to q successful termination.
PANIC IN THEATER.
LONDON, Jan. ia panic occurred
in a hall on Prince street at Spittields
last night, resulting in the trampling to
death of twelve women and five children.
dramatic club was giving an entertain
ment. The audience was largely COM
posed of Hebrews. The house was
crowded. During the progress of the
play a man and woman in the street out
side and near the main doorway of the
hall qusrreled. The man used violence
and the woman screamed. Her cries
were heard by passerby who misunder-
stood them and shouted
"fre." The woman's screams
and the cry of "fre" were heard inside,
and at once created q panic, the audience,
numbering 500, rising in body and rush
iEg pell NELL for the main entrance. The
manager of the dramatic club which was
giving the entertainment was on the stage
when the panic began. He did sill in his
power to alleviate the excitement, but the
frantic crowd paid no attention to him
and only increased their eXertions to get
out. TIE whole crowd as if with one i'm
pulse made for the main entrance. Those
who first reached it were number OF
women and children who had been occu-
plying some of the rear seats. They were
overborne by strong men and the women
and children fell at the doorway
as stumbling blocks. They
tripped up others who were
crushed down by the rush of the frantic
crowd. 1t took but few minutes to
empty the house and the alarm was so
thorough that not soul among the en-
tire Performance refrained from the strug-
gle to get out. When the people. after
reaching the streets, ascertained the facts
of the situation q scene of great disorder
of another kind ensued by the discovery
that numbers were missing. Then rush
back was made. This, however, was
stopped at the main entrance by the
police, who had arrived and assumed con-
troll. Seventeen corpses were found inside
the theater,near the door. They were all
torn, crushed and disfigured. 1t was
found that OF the dead twelve wer5 wo-
men, three boys, one was q girl and the
other a man. The remains were almost
unrecognizable. Eye-witnesses say that
strong men who got the uppermost in the
struggle at the door crushed and tram
pied on those who fell down.
1t Is stated that number of infants,
carried in their mothers arms and chung
to through all the panic, were crushed or
smothered to death, and that q number of
others were fatally injured. The scene
during the attempted return OF the crowd
was painful. The bereaved remained at
the doorway all night, waiting to have
their dead restored to them, and the
lamentations of the women were heart
breaking. The police have been giving
number of contradictory stories about
the cause of the panic. One is that
thieves started the cry to get the sp lis OF
many rich Jewels which the women wore
on their persons to the entertainment.
The hall to-day resembled dlsordered
auction-room. Broken furniture, crushed
toys, children's hats, broken bottles,
actors wigs and shreds of clothes
had been scattered over the
floor. There were many blood
spots on the packs of chairs and the floor.
Here and there CHASTITY knots Of hair were
clinging to the furniture. Several es-
capes were made through the windows,
most of which were badly smashed. The
bodies were found at the bot